1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to aqueous compositions of associative polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) which can clean a surface and/or provide surface protection to treated articles including reduced soiling tendency, reduced cleaning effort and improved soil repellency, as well as providing bacteriostatic properties to treated surfaces that thereby gain resistance to water, environmental exposure and microbial challenge.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Consumers are dissatisfied with their ability to prevent water and soils, such as water spots, soap scum, toothpaste, scale, greasy soils, brake dust, grime, rust, and toilet ring, from soiling and building up on household surfaces and other exposed materials. It would be desirable to have treatment means that would easily modify or enhance the surface protective properties of a wide variety of materials to retain and/or maintain their “like new” appearance and/or clean state and/or disinfected state for longer periods of time, particularly when exposed to water, soil and microbial challenge. It would further be desirable to have a treatment means compatible with cleaning aids, so that cleaning and treatment of soiled surfaces could be done either in conjunction or simultaneously with the treatment means providing enhanced protection including extended antimicrobial activity.
Consumers also desire cleaners and treatments that are convenient to use or that reduce cleaning effort (less surface scrubbing or buffing) during the initial cleaning or treatment, and which provide the benefit of reduced effort or increased speed of subsequent cleaning or treatment. Products used by professionals, such as janitorial services or automobile detailers, that provide reduced cleaning or treatment times are likewise of considerable value in reducing labor costs.
However, many commercial disinfectants employing the use of typical quaternary ammonium biocides deposited on surfaces to reduce microbial loads tend to leave the treated surfaces that are sticky to the touch and which attract dust and detritus leading to unsightly surfaces requiring frequent cleaning and reapplication to remain effective. There is a need for treatment compositions that provide stable, but thin and invisible layers or particles on treated surfaces with enhanced surface protective properties, such as reduced adhesion of soil, biological and environmental contaminants, or the ability to kill germs that are deposited onto the surfaces in a variety of ways, including airborne contaminants, food preparation, direct epidermal contact with humans or animals, and exposure to bodily fluids. There is a need for compositions that can also be employed to simultaneously clean and treat the surfaces so that separate cleaning and treatment steps are not required.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide compositions containing associative polyelectrolyte complexes capable of treating the surfaces of articles that overcome the disadvantages and shortcomings associated with prior art compositions. It is a further object of the present invention to provide compositions and means for the deposition of associative polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) which can form densely packed uniform nanometer scale structures on treated surfaces when applied in the form of an aqueous treatment composition.
It is another object of the present invention to provide aqueous treatment compositions of associative polyelectrolyte complexes combined with additional cleaning adjuncts and/or biocides useful to effect the treatment of articles to provide treated surfaces having surface protection benefits such as reduced soiling tendency, reduced cleaning effort and improved soil repellency, as well as to provide bacteriostatic properties to treated surfaces that have good resistance to water and environmental exposure.